Where does Corey Brown rank on these lists? He's a lot like Maxwell or Burgess - lots of tools (maybe a nod to Rizzo's former boss), lots of strikeouts. I think BA had Burgess around 15 or 17. Would Brown be higher up because of his success at AA? Or lower because he's a couple of years older?

The Baseball America Prospect Handbook has him as the number 11 Athletics prospect. Some highlights from his entry:

"has always tantalized the A's with his physical tools, and he began to show a more mature approach last season. He shortened his stroke last year, began using the opposite field more consistently and developed a better two strike plan."

Ks remain an issue, tends to pull off the ball against lefties"

Intelligent base runner

Speed gives him a chance to stay in CF but his arm could play in RF

For comparison Burgess was 19 on our list. Oakland's system was rated much lower than ours, though.

The Prospect Handbook is pretty awesome by the way. I'm not sure how much of what's in here you can find on the BA site but if anyone has any questions, just holler.

Just swapping Heyward for Detwiler would do it, in my humble opinion. And making our supplemental-round LHP choice Brett Cecil instead of Josh Smoker.

were bowden's guys viewed as overdrafts at the time? I don't remember that being the case. I blame the instructional and developmental guys more than the scouts- I have every confidence we would have ruined Heyward too

Just when I think You're starting to get it, you come up with fail as evidenced in this thread.

what? i said we're progressing, but we haven't as much as we should've. dude we have been the laughing stock of baseball for years and you would think our farm system would be a lot better than what it is right now ... sorry it's not. the KLAW doesn't have a lot of fans out there - I'm sure as hell ain't one of them - but he does have a point, our system is probably in the early 20s range.

I'm happy to blame Bowden for all the problems in our farm system. We had some pretty terrible drafts on his watch. Rizzo seems to have done somewhat better, but it's still way too early to judge. This will be a big year for him with 3 picks in the top 35.

I'm happy to blame Bowden for all the problems in our farm system. We had some pretty terrible drafts on his watch. Rizzo seems to have done somewhat better, but it's still way too early to judge. This will be a big year for him with 3 picks in the top 35.

I'm more interested in what he does with those picks in rounds 5 and later. Given that this may be the last year with the current rules, there could be slot bonuses meaning that teams won't be able to sign the AJ Coles or Robbie Rays late anymore. If that's the concern, I'd hope the Nats draft/sign a bunch of those type guys in case that loophole goes away

I'm more interested in what he does with those picks in rounds 5 and later. Given that this may be the last year with the current rules, there could be slot bonuses meaning that teams won't be able to sign the AJ Coles or Robbie Rays late anymore. If that's the concern, I'd hope the Nats draft/sign a bunch of those type guys in case that loophole goes away

I bet a lot of kids go to college then, which frankly is just fine with me.

I bet a lot of kids go to college then, which frankly is just fine with me.

I tend to lean the other way about what the kids will do. This is their time to cash in. In three years, there could be no overslot which means they are banking on becoming 1st rounders. For the top guys it's possible (like Gerrit Cole is in 2011) but if you think about the volume of HS seniors who are top 5-6 round talents, there aren't enough top 2 round picks for them to settle into.

I'd imagine we'll see the next tier guys (like Robbie Ray) sign for overslot deals in the mid-six figures this year rather than risk ending up with five figures in 2014

It would be great to get several 1st round type talents in this draft. I hope Rizzo and the Lerners are thinking along the same lines. Hopefully some of the money that would have gone to Greinke or Cliff Lee will go towards the draft. Getting a handful of high ceiling high school players in here would be great. I still think they should focus on college players at the top of the draft - even if it's only for the first 3 picks - because our ML team needs serious help and that should be the focus at that point in the draft.

Rather than start another farm system thread, Fanhouse has us ranked 15th.

Quote

15. Washington Nationals | 2010 Rank: 16 | Players in Top 100: 4They may have graduated Stephen Strasburg, but now they have another super prospect in Bryce Harper. That said, don't underestimate the lesser-known talents in their system like Sammy Solis, Danny Espinosa and Derek Norris. Washington's system is much more than one big-name prospect.